Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This was supposed to be the year for me, I had all kinds of new boardlines set up but the rains never came. It did actually rain but only 1/4" every two to three weeks. By the time the next rain would come it would be bone dry again never allowing the moisture to accumulate. The Temecula area received enough rain to grow a little green but everywhere else looked like August throughout the entire spring. The end total was around 3" for the year. I thought nothing would come up without the moister but found out a few snakes could still be found, most were juveniles.

February

March

helleri

A very large Alligator lizard.

My first Cal king of the year.

March at 2,000' in elevation. This area had a lot of recent moisture. It wasn't as green as normal but there was a lot of moisture under the rocks. Under one of the rocks I found my first Tantilla in a few years.

Late March

Feisty little thing

An other from the same day. Both this and the previous one were found under trash at a dump site that was bone dry.

A happy Alligator lizard.

And a mad one.lol

Still late March.

And a lighter colored king at sunset.

Later March, a little Night snake found under these boards.

Just down the road in an other bone dry field.


Under this slab of concrete my second Tantilla.

These little fellas were found under an other piece near by.

Mid April, my first Two striped garter found outside the upper elevations.

A baby king that recently ate.

A dark adult helleri.

And my first Riverside striper of the year. These are noticeably different than the S.D. stripers.

In late April I began road cruising the area but found nothing. Finally in mid May I found a nice little striper. These Riverside stripers are a lot less common than the S.D. stripers so I was very excited to find this one and the one before it.

Then lastly a few more finds in June. A ruber just after dark.

A grayish Speck.

Night snake

An other Speck found 10 minutes after the first.

That's it from western Riverside Co. The next phase will be road cruising for hatchlings in September. Thanks for viewing.

Hey thanks for sharing Ross....I LOVE those rubers! It's been dry here in Az too, but just goes to show that with a little perseverance, animals can be found! Here's hoping you get some moisture soon!

-AzAtrox

Thanks AzAtrox. You wouldn't believe how much I had to flip just to find those few snakes. I would go out flipping 4 hours at a time and be lucky if I uncovered one snake! It was really tough this year but as you could probably imagine, I was extremely over joyed for every one I found when normally it would just be cool. I'm surprised I didn't faint when I flipped that striped king. LOL Or run off the road when I cruised the last one. LOL Yeah, hopefully we'll get some rain in Sept or Oct. Thanks again.

Hey Ross,
Those are some great pics! Rain isn’t really needed here in So. Cal. To find snakes. However it does make things a lot easier. This stooped drought that we are having has actually driven many of our snakes down into people’s homes. I think the snakes are following the rodents and also looking for the homes with the pools. Until the heat kicked in here in So. Cal. My snake removal service was averaging about nine calls a day with some kind of reptilian intruder. On a normal year, I might get three calls.

I might be mistaken, but were those pictures taken off the 60 freeway about fifteen minutes east of the 15 freeway? Those hills and that trash remind me of a little Riverside spot I discovered this spring.

Again great pics. I love that Rosey shot.

JasonMc

Thanks for the comments. That's interesting to hear the calls have gone up for removals. I'll bet its the live plants, moisture and all that attracting the rodents then the snakes. Very interesting. Yeah, if your talking about the spot where the Tantilla was found under a slab of concrete, that's right there where the 60&215 meet right by Box Springs. It used to have a ton of trash to flip but they cleaned a lot of it up and because it's right next to the freeway everyone already knows about it. But it looks like it could produce some cool stuff under good conditions. That boa was in a crack about 6" off the ground in an upward angle. I had to almost lay my head on the ground and look up in that crack to see it. And because it was a small crack, the flash on the camera wouldn't shoot into the crack so I had to use a flashlight. That's why the lighting was kind of bad on the photo. Thanks.

Hi Ross those are outstanding pics!!!!!!!!!!! I wish I still lived in CA. I especially like the W. Riverside Striped Cal King Keep the pics coming!!!!!!!!!!! thanks again for sharing!! Dave Flanagan

Awesome pics as always, Ross! Love Kingss & the Crotes especilly the Specks. That Tantilla must've been quite a find? Was it earlier in the year when you found it. Here in Chatsworth, I noticed I would find the smaller snakes (all Ringnecks) early in the year (March).

reako45

Thanks a lot guys! Yeah, the first Tantilla was found in March then the second was found in April. They were found in very different habitats and conditions. The first was found in the mountains under a very moist rock, the second was found in the lower elevations under a very dry piece of concrete. They're considered good finds in California. I've gone years without finding them, some people have never found them. I found three in one little area in about ten minutes back in 2001 and haven't seen any there since.

Great post!, really reflective on the dry year we have. I hope we don't get another like that soon. By the way, an other is ONE WORD, it kills me to read your posts and see "an other." Another, another, another...
The tantilla were cool finds.

and a couple from years gone by, I just randomly selected these from the list of photos in my gallery as I posted this...